


The (Aspiring) Little Giant's Plight

by SpiritBloodDragon



Series: The (Aspiring) Little Giant and the Introverted Kitten [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Blushing, Cute, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Hugs, Love Confessions, M/M, Short & Sweet, Uh how do I tag properly, Yes this is how I tag properly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24496144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritBloodDragon/pseuds/SpiritBloodDragon
Summary: Hinata's biggest passion and love is volleyball. Common knowledge across everyone at Karasuno, Nekoma, Aoba Johsai, and practically every school to interact with, of course.Hinata's especially aware of this, so of course, when something concerns him that isn't related to volleyball, his team wants to know.The weird thing?Hinata doesn't even know what's concerning him.So, of course, with his team, Hinata tries to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it. He's not going to let anything get in the way of his goals, after all. No matter what his goal is.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Series: The (Aspiring) Little Giant and the Introverted Kitten [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1783936
Comments: 10
Kudos: 185





	1. Passionate Play

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, mates. I know I mainly write Saitatsu stuff, but I had been writing this for a while just as a short story if I get some sort of writer's block or feel a sort of monotony in writing Saitatsu. That being said, it's still probably my favorite ship.
> 
> However, that doesn't mean I can't have other ships that I love! So this is a sort of short story here that's only going to be 4 chapters, maybe I'll write an epilogue eventually, but right now, I'm satisfied with this and just wanted to share it!
> 
> It may not be as high-quality, though, since I just wrote what I felt and didn't decide to make extra drafts. It was just sort of letting my ideas out.
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy!

"Kageyama, have you seen Hinata today? I came here a bit early and I didn't notice him come here at all," Nishinoya asked as he received a spike from Asahi, who had been practicing for a bit before Nishinoya had arrived. It was early in the morning, and considering the winter season, practically pitch-black outside. It was only when the first-year had opened the door had the other two noticed he had even arrived.

The genius setter sighed before scratching his head, "No, I didn't, Nishinoya-san."

"Oh, but don't you two race all the time before morning practice?" Asahi observed, picking up the ball that Nishinoya had received. "It's unlike Hinata to turn you down for a competition."

"Yeah, I know," Kageyama responded a bit harshly before turning down his tone. "It's annoying too, since I waited a few minutes outside in the snow until I realized the lights in his home weren't even on." As he took off his winter coat, he shook a bit of snow off of his head.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Tanaka's enthusiastic voice came through the bars of the gym. "Y'all are already here before me?! What is this?!"

"Tanaka, you're almost always the latest one to practice," Kageyama deadpanned under his breath, finding himself lucky that his elder hadn't noticed. "We just decided to come here early. You already know that I come here early."

"Yeah, but where's that little ball of energy?" The bald man questioned as he entered the door. "It's way too quiet for him to be here."

He was right. Without Hinata's presence and generally determined and positive presence, it felt a bit duller and quieter. The gym, other than the quiet grunts of effort let out by the players and the sound of the ball being smacked around bouncing off the walls, was practically silent. Asahi and Nishinoya had realized that they had barely said a word to each other rather than asking each other if they could work on what they needed to.

Kageyama scoffed indignantly, "He didn't race me, and I didn't even see him before coming here. I texted him but he didn't respond either."

"That...is really weird," Nishinoya remarked, putting a hand on his chin. "Don't we have a practice game against Nekoma later today?"

"Exactly," Kageyama nodded. "I don't think he'd miss a practice game against them for the world. He even started studying a bit more when he learned that we'd have a practice game when you guys brought it up a week back."

Tanaka raised his eyebrow, "Bullshit."

"I know."

Asahi stuttered, trying to come up with a reason, "Maybe he slept in? It has to happen to someone even like Hinata, right?" Even he knew that there was doubt in his voice, and it was pretty obvious to everyone else.

"Asahi," Nishinoya seemed extremely skeptical and put a hand on his hip. "You're talking about the little ball of sunshine that literally woke us up every single day at the training camp half an hour before our alarms. Even earlier than me sometimes."

Memories flooded the four of them as Tanaka closed the gym door before setting his stuff down. They very distinctly remembered how he always bounced around the room they slept in even though he had just woken up. All with that bright cheerful smile on his face, like he didn't even know what he was doing.

"Hey, you're the one who actually got up," Kageyama pointed out.

"Cause you're always the one lecturing him and Daichi's always too tired in the morning to," Asahi retorted.

"What about me?" The familiar voice of the team captain came through the bars, similar to how Tanaka's had. "You four better had not been gossiping me, or I'll make you do three times as many diving drills."

"Sawamura, don't you think that's a bit much?" The quieter, slightly timid voice of Sugawara was heard as well. It was far quieter though, and the four already in the gym struggled to hear it, even misinterpreting his words for a moment.

"Wait, where's Hinata?" Sawamura asked as he entered the building, scanning around for any sight of the energetic Little Giant to be.

As the four of them shrugged, he raised an eyebrow before crossing his arms, "He didn't respond to your texts, Kageyama?"

"How did you know I would text him?"

"You care too much not to," Sugawara remarked, earning a vein on Kageyama's forehead. "You're in denial again..."

"H-How did you know?" the setter asked, a bit shocked.

"Kageyama. With all due respect in this situation, which I might add is none," Daichi put a hand on his shoulder. "You not only just confirmed it...but you are somehow, in some way, dumber than Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Hinata. You aren't exactly great at hiding it, nor smart enough to."

With protests from the three of four people mentioned in that statement, Sawamura rolled his eyes a bit with an amused smile on his face as he entered the gym.

"Well, even if Hinata's not here right now, let's get to practice! He'll probably be here at the after-school practice so we can get to Nekoma!"

~~~

Huh? Where's all the noise coming from? Kuroo's in there, obviously...but it's not usually this loud. I wonder where Hinata went, anyways. He couldn't have just gone home...I didn't give him money to take the bus back to Karasuno.

Well, I guess I'll just have to go to volleyball practice and see him when Karasuno comes by for their practice game. It's not like the school day is that long, anyways.

"Hey, where's Kenma?" I hear Kuroo ask. "Did you talk to him at all?" Why is he worried about that? He knows I usually arrive later than the others. I like to take my time. Besides, the cold weather is pretty nice. I like seeing the snowflakes. It's quiet. Calm.

I hear someone's voice.

What? Why does that voice...no...did he really come here?

"Oh, yeah! When I woke up, he was still super asleep so I just decided to come here and wait for him!" A very, unusually bubbly, bright, and warm voice echoes from the walls to the point where I can hear it from outside of the building.

Even in the cold, I think the sheer warmth and joy in his voice is enough to warm anyone's heart.

Is that weird to say? I don't think so.

Right?

Whatever.

I hear the entire team nearly go crazy, "What?!"

"Did I say something weird?" I hear Shouyou ask. He probably has that really confused look on his face whenever he's too oblivious to know what was going on. I like that about him. He's always positive no matter what.

As I enter quietly, I try not to be noticed but unfortunately the creaking of the door gives it away. I freeze when I feel all of my team's eyes on me, including Coach Nekomata.

"Um. Hi," I say. I blink for a moment, realizing that they didn't hear me.

"Hello," I try to be a bit louder, but it probably doesn't sound louder than a whisper. Maybe they're just...catatonic? That's the right word. They're still. Like statues.

"Kenma," Kuroo is the first one to speak, incredibly curious, shady, and with a hint of jealousy behind his voice. "Why exactly is Hinata saying that he slept over at your place?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Shouyou's bubbly voice fills the air. "Tell 'em, Kenma!" Uh. How do I do this? Talking to the whole team? I didn't do that ever since I joined the team and introduced myself.

"Oh. I invited Shouyou to hang out a while back and we agreed on yesterday. He just asked if he could sleep over and I said yeah." That was...horrendous. It was almost enough to make me regret inviting Shouyou in the first place.

"Wait. What?!" Kuroo takes an extremely dramatic stance. The rest of the Nekoma team does the same, and it's a bit intimidating for Hinata, who wasn't expecting the absolutely mad amount of noise. He sprints towards me to hide for a moment. 

"Shouyou, why are you doing this?" I ask calmly as he wraps his arms around from behind me. "It's not like I'm much taller than you." He pushes himself closer to me, and I lightly blush. I'm not used to the sudden contact, or contact in general with other people. Even Kuroo.

I'm sure he notices subconsciously, but I don't think anyone's paying attention to that but rather the fact that he slept over.

"I like being near you. You're warm," is all he says, and I simply accept it.

"Kenma, you never hang out with people!" Inouka begins. It sets off this odd chain of telling me how antisocial I am. How original.

"I don't think he's even come to a team sleepover. Didn't he sleep in a separate room during the training camp?" Coach Nekomata joins in. I'm surprised that even the coach was shocked at that. Is it really so hard to believe?

"Yeah, he did! Kenma, how come you never even have social interactions anyways?!" The other members start bombarding me with questions, to which Hinata holds me a bit tighter.

"Kuroo, what do you even mean?" I interrupt when they bring up him being my childhood friend. "You sleep over all the time."

"I sleep over...uninvited!" He corrects, a bit too sassily; he's...insufferable, at times. "I always have to like invite myself over! It's never you inviting me!"

"I felt like inviting Shouyou."

"Oh, so you call him Shouyou but can't call me Tetsurou?!" He's provoking me again. Lucky for him, I guess I can give in just this once.

"That's different," I answer calmly, being reminded. "Oh, by the way, Shouyou. If you're here, how are you going to get back to Karasuno? Didn't your mom drop you off here?" I feel him nod.

"Yeah. What about it?" He asks, finally noticing the gym become quieter as they watch the two of us. It's unnerving, being watched. I don't like it. Is this what other teams feel when we play against them? Creepy.

He perches his head on my shoulder, and I roll my eyes before giving him more real estate, "Well, we have a practice game against Nekoma later. Can't I just stay with you guys?"

"Hinata," Coach Nekomata interrupts. "Unlike you, we don't live and breathe volleyball. Maybe Inuoka."

"Hey!" Inuoka protests, only to get elbowed in the side by Kuroo.

"Regardless, you can't stay here. If it's fine with him, you could probably be at Kenma's place. Other than the volleyball team, Nekoma doesn't really use this place since the other clubs use the main gym," he explains. "We like using this place just because it's always vacant."

"Then can I stay here and just practice volleyball until the practice game?! Pretty please?!" Hinata jumps out in front of me with a gleeful look on his face. I can't help but smile at it, even if it's a small smile.

"You know...I think it'd work," I comment. "It's not like Hinata's going to go anywhere other than the bathroom here and maybe hitting his head somehow."

"Would that be fine, Nekomata-san?!" He begs, a glint in his eyes. Seeing those eyes makes me smile again, too.

"Don't you have school to go to?" Nekomata instantly asks. It doesn't deter the first year as he continues asking with a bright joy coming from his eyes. The ball of sunshine was simply too persistent.

"Hey, Kenma, could you come outside with me real quick?" Kuroo requests out of the blue. I'm a bit confused. "I gotta talk to you about something."

"Uh, sure," I go along with him. As I hear the coach give in to Hinata's overall cheerfulness and joy from his celebrating, I roll my eyes with an amused look on my face. I wonder how he can keep playing volleyball for so long.

He just loves it, I guess. I don't even think it's a passion. It's a love for the sport.

As Kuroo and I get outside, he closes the door to the gym so they can't really hear us. I notice that the sun's finally starting to rise. It's about 7:00 right now, so that makes sense.

"Kenma," Kuroo addresses me, his tone a bit different than when it was in there. "What's going on? This isn't like you."

I raise my eyebrow a bit, "What do you mean?"

"Kenma. You know what I mean. You haven't invited anyone over except that one girl in third year of primary school!" Kuroo laughs, and I blush a bit in embarrassment this time. "Plus, ever since then, you've become more antisocial." He crosses his arms in thought, and I take a step back so that he stops...looming over me.

"What are you getting at?" I ask suspiciously, seeing him smirk. "I don't like that smirk of yours." My eyes narrow as he smirks even more, a fervent glint in his eyes.

"C'mon, Kenma. You know exactly what I'm getting at," he leans a bit. "You like Hinata, don't you? You had a crush on that girl, and now you have a crush on Hinata."

I blush a lot, my heart beating fast. My shoulders tense instinctively, and a defensive tone graces my voice.

"I swear, Kuroo, if you even try to--" My voice is far more aggressive than I would like it to be, but I don't think I can control it. My emotions have taken over. I don't like it when I get emotional.

And even so, why did I get so defensive? It's not like I've actively thought about Shouyou in that light.

Did I?

I remember our hangout.

Yeah, I remember.

I did.

I thought he was adorable.

Does that count?

I don't think so.

"Oh, so you do like him!" He seems genuinely surprised; it's an emotion I'm not used to seeing from Kuroo. "I didn't think you actually did! I was just teasing you!"

My eyes and tone softens as I realize that I spilled(?) and that I got emotional, "Please don't tell him." I hate sounding like I'm begging. But it sounds like I'm begging. Why am I begging in the first place?

"And why shouldn't I?" He asks, feigning innocence while putting a hand on his hip. I know he's joking. I know he wouldn't do that to me.

Right?

I try to take what he said into consideration. Do I like Shouyou?

"Please?" I request, calming down a bit more yet still panicked. "I...don't fully know if I like him. I don't know if it's just a crush or something like that."

Kuroo sighs with a raised eyebrow, "Kenma. It's written all over your face. When you talk about him, you smile. You never smile."

"That's not enough to show why--" I protest, but he cuts me off.

"You let him hug you and you blushed," he begins listing off. "You hugged him back at our last practice game. In fact, you initiated it!"

I try to protest again, "Hey, it's Shouyou. What was I supposed--" He cuts me off again.

"Kenma, you invited him for a sleepover. And you know how exactly I know you like him?" I contemplate hearing the answer, but my ears are red from embarrassment.

"No," I quietly whisper. "Just...please don't tell the rest of the team this, and please, please don't tell Shouyou about this." Again, I hate begging. Especially to Kuroo.

But this time, he smiles. It's not snarky. It's almost endearing. Real. Not shady.

"Of course, Kenma. I wouldn't sell you out," he assures, and I relax a bit; I didn't realize how tense I was. "Aren't we gonna start morning practice yet? Pretty sure your future boyfriend's waiting for you."

That's the classic Kuroo I know.

I punch him lightly on the arm before I walk in hastily, carrying my bag with me, "Shush."

I hear him snicker, before muttering to himself, "Sure, sure, Romeo."

I flush heavily at that and quiet down. It works, since the team doesn't seem to notice a change.

But I am really glad that they can't notice how fast my heart's beating.

Dang it, Kuroo.

"Hey, Kenma!" Shouyou smiles brightly at me. "Can you give me a few tosses?! Coach Nekomata said I could stay here as long as I don't get caught!" He holds up a volleyball. I glance at Coach Nekomata, and he shrugs while rolling his eyes a bit. I guess the age really did cause him to not care anymore. I remember that he was apparently a lot stricter before I came here.

My mind going back to the talk I just had and having my feelings...well, laid out to me, I blush a little bit. Luckily, Shouyou doesn't seem to notice. 

I can practically feel Kuroo waiting for my response.

"S-Sure," I go along. He tosses the volleyball to me, and I hear near-silent snickering behind me. When Shouyou turns around, I quickly send a subtle glare towards him and he shrugs innocently in response.

God, this is going to be hard.

How do I even deal with emotions?

Especially liking someone the way I like Shouyou...this is really going to be tough, isn't it?

~~~

"Kageyama, did you see Hinata at all today?" Sugawara asks Kageyama, a bit too concerned. "It's not like him to miss anything volleyball-related."

The setter shakes his head, "No, now that I think about it. He didn't even show in class."He rolls his eyes, shrugging.

The entire volleyball team was in the club room, preparing to head to Nekoma. As they start putting their things in their bag, they try to ignore the extremely loud noises of Nishinoya and Tanaka hyping themselves up.

"No way," Asahi, awestruck, breathlessly says. "Remember when he was super sick and he still insisted that we play to the point where Tanaka had to force him to sit on the bench?"

"Don't remind me, please," Tanaka's excitement and adrenaline seem to vanish. "I got sick too, y'know." Nishinoya snickers at that.

"Was it worse than when he puked on you?" The libero asks with an annoying grin on his face as Tanaka rolls his eyes.

Tsukishima rolls his eyes and quips, "Hinata just seems to be bad luck for you." In an instant, Tanaka seems a bit hostile and defensive for the currently absent middle blocker, where Yamaguchi starts trying to defuse the situation. It doesn't really work.

"Hey, all of you!" Coach Ukai calls from outside. "The bus is going to leave in a few minutes if you don't hurry up!"

"Got it!" Sawamura calls back, zipping up his backpack. "Come on, guys. Kageyama, stop wiggling your fingers; it's creepy. Tanaka, Nishinoya, calm down or else I'm smacking you two. Ennoshita...nice. Could you help calm down the other second years? Asahi...please loosen up. Sugawara, got everything?"

As each respective member of Karasuno's volleyball team nods and follows instructions, they follow him outside and follow him onto the bus. It's eerily silent, like a horror film. Nobody knows what to bring up. The air is thick and tense, but not awkward.

Once they realize that it boils down to Hinata's absence, concern slightly fills the rest of the members of Karasuno. It even affects Tsukishima, though to a degree nowhere near that of the others, and especially nowhere near that of Suga.

"Tsukishima, Yamaguchi," Coach Ukai calls out absentmindedly. "I know we've asked Kageyama a bunch, but have either of you seen him?" He doesn't look at the two of them, as he has his head on his head while staring out the bus window.

The silence gives him the answer.

After what seemed like ages of silence, other than Tsukishima and Kageyama who had brought headphones, and a wait that seemed to last forever while getting to Nekoma, the Karasuno team had finally arrived at the gym.

"Hm, sounds like they've already started warming up," Asahi observes, carrying his bag on his shoulder. As the rest of the team got off the bus and the bus driver started to leave, the doors to the volleyball gym opened to reveal the sight of Kuroo.

"Hey, country bumpkins! You're finally here!" He greeted cheerfully, instantly locking eyes with Daichi. "Well, well...where's the shorty?" As the captain leaned on the door, the team starts to approach, now with careful eyes.

"That's a bit concerning. Do you know anything about him?" Tanaka tries to intimidate, only to be met with the sight of Yamamoto. "You. I swear, if you did anything to Hinata--"

"Huh? What do you mean, country boy?" The mohawk-wielding ace narrows his eyes and attempts to out-intimidate Tanaka. Fortunately, Sugawara worms his way between the two of them and pushes them apart.

While struggling to keep the two violent teens apart, Sugawara struggles to say, "If there's something you know about Hinata, please tell me." Unfortunately, at the mention of who he thought was his personal spiker, Kageyama gained what the Karasuno team had called 'The Stalker.'

A creepy aura had surrounded Kageyama as they all heard him murmur in a quiet, sinister voice while attempting to subtly glare at Kuroo. Of course, it wasn't subtle in the slightest.

"Jeez, is the entire countryside this violent?" He laughs it off, even though he was slightly disturbed by the glaring. "Anyways, c'mon in. We've got a game to play."

As the team started to follow Kuroo, they could only tilt his head when he calls out, "Kenma, Chibi-Chan! Everyone! Karasuno's here!"

Of course, most of the people called out were what they'd expect. Kenma of course since they're close friends, everyone applying to the Nekoma team. But there was nobody they could correlate to the second one.

Except two, that is.

Tsukishima and Kageyama had heard it before for certain, the former much more often given his training with Bokuto and Kuroo. As his brain grinded and turned over trying to remember something.

"Yamaguchi," he gently called out. "Do you remember what Kuroo called Hinata at the training camp?"

"Hey, guys!" A familiar voice calls out to the Karasuno team. The bright kindness that could warm the coldest winter. The energy that could replace a battery. The happiness that could console Misery itself. Everything about the voice, from the sheer joy and excitement to the unattainable passion and general love for everything and everyone could all pointed to one thing. Rather, a person.

"Shouyou, calm down, please..." A quiet, resigned voice requests. "You already played the whole day, didn't you?"

"So?! I still have energy, Kenma!"

"W-We all know you have energy. A lot of it."

"Well, what are you gonna do about it?!"

After hearing the banter back-and-forth, Kageyama barges right through the rest of the team, followed very closely by Suga.

"Dumbass! Why are you here already?!" The aggressive setter practically yells, stomping over to Hinata who just innocently shrugs in response. "Were you here the whole time?!"

"Yep!" He nods, sticking his tongue out. "Coach Nekomata said that I could stay here since I had no way to get back!"

"Nekomata-san," Takeda timidly holds up his hand. "Is this true?"

The elder heartily chuckles and nods, "Indeed it is. The young ball of sunshine came barging in, saying he hung out with Kenma the day before and that he just slept over!"

"Coach, you don't have to tell them..." Kenma quietly whispers, not unnoticed yet brushed off for the time being.

Kageyama whirls on the reserved second-year, who instantly feels cornered under the glare before bursting, "You made him miss school!" It was meant as a question, but came out as an accusation.

"Bakayama! Stop!" Hinata, almost instinctively, gets in a protective stance in front of Kenma. "I was the one who stayed here and asked, and I was the one who hung out with him and missed school! Don't blame him!"

"Stop protecting him, dumbass!"

"No!" Hinata retorts, pushing Kageyama away from Kenma. "Don't yell at him!"

"Why are you being so protective?!"

"Don't yell at Kenma!" There's a different underlying tone, one that reminds him of Sugawara when someone threatens one of his friends. "That's all I'm asking!" Kenma backs behind Hinata, trying to hide from Kageyama.

"Dumbass," Tanaka lectures, smacking Kageyama on the back of the head. "You made all this tense and angry now." Kageyama has a dumbstruck look on his face.

"Kenma, you good?" Hinata asks the setter, who has hidden behind him. As he feels a small nod on his back, he takes a step forward and past Kageyama.

"Sorry, captain! Sorry, coach!" He bows to Ukai and Sawamura, who are just as dumbfounded.

"It's...fine," Ukai mumbles, still trying to get over the fact that Hinata seemed genuinely annoyed with Kageyama, even for a little bit. "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook! You're doing extra drills!"

"Aw man, really?!" Hinata's attempts at being free fail.

"That's on you for missing a whole day of school. Legally, you shouldn't even be allowed to partake in after-school activities," Tsukishima calmly informs, pushing his glasses up a bit.

"That's right," Kuroo smirks. "Maybe we should take him out of practice. After all, he has been playing all day..."

"W-Wait a minute!" Hinata puts a finger up, starting to beg and plead. "H-How does me playing all day mean I shouldn't now? I still have a ton of energy!"

Nishinoya teases, "Just cause you have energy doesn't mean you're gonna play...I heard from Suga all about how you almost weren't let in the club in the first place!"

"Hold up, Shouyou, is this true?" Kenma bashfully puts a hand on his shoulder. "I heard it from Kuroo when Sawamura-senpai told him at the training camp, but I didn't think it was actually true."

"S-Shush, you!" Hinata bursts out, blushing a bit in embarrassment. "I'm not that bad now!"

"Wow, Hinata, really? You were that goofy?" Inuoka can't help but ask. Hinata hangs his head in defeat, mumbling to himself about how Kageyama was the one who caused it in the first place.

"Well, we can't keep doing this. Let's start the practice games!" Coach Nekomata grasps their attention, and Coach Ukai nods in agreement.

"Amazing," Kuroo grins and slyly whispers into Kenma's ear. "You two really say shush together, don't you?"

An elbow was quickly jabbed into his midsection with an amused smile on Kenma's face.

"Oh, so you can smile."

"Shush."


	2. Fatigued Focus

"One more!" Hinata's voice boomed, yet seeming like a distant noise to the rest of the teenagers. They'd just finished their sixth practice game and it was nearing 8 p.m. Nearly 4 hours straight of playing volleyball.

"Oh my god, Hinata, none of us have that sort of stamina!" Tanaka panted, causing the rest of Karasuno to nod tiredly, too weak at the moment to do much else. The entire gym was filled with the scent of sweat and the only sound at the moment was either Hinata bouncing around, or the groans of the volleyball players any time they tried to move. 

Why they thought a fifth game would be fine, it would be unknown to everyone on both teams. Even Inuoka, who was practically his rival in Nekoma, couldn't fathom how Hinata could even walk at the moment.

"Dumbass, stop running!" Kageyama gathered the energy to yell, though not much more. "Practice is over!"

"But I have all this energy!" The ball of sunshine shivers in anticipation for more time of running with a bright grin on his face. "What am I supposed to do?!"

Ukai crossed his arms, "Hinata, I'll take you out of the next practice game if you don't stop moving around."

In an instant, the embodiment of restlessness skidded to a stop. While he twitched every now and then, it was obvious that he was still far more hyped up than he let on. It was too much for him to hold still normally.

"Chibi-Chan! C'mere!" Kuroo called out, prompting the ginger to come closer. "Can you help me with something?"

"Kuroo, what are you doing?" Kenma hissed quietly, making sure Hinata didn't notice. "You're trying to do something, I know it."

"What do you mean, my dear Kenma?" He slyly whispers back. "I'm trying to help you out."

"What?" Kenma swiftly responded. He was genuinely confused what he was trying to, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't going to be something he liked. He quickly looked at the Karasuno team, who was usually extremely protective of the short middle blocker. Unfortunately for him, the most rambunctious members, Tanaka and Nishinoya, were fast asleep.

He stared around at the gym, looking for somebody who'd question Kuroo's actions. He quickly realized his search was of no avail. The coaches were conversing amongst themselves, the managers taking account of everything and comparing the data received, and the members trying to focus enough to stay awake or to do something to recover. Even Kageyama, who antagonized Kenma most, hadn't the energy to move around and take Hinata away, of whom he seemed extremely protective of.

"Whatcha need, Rooster Head?" Hinata asks, crouching down near the shady captain despite not thinking in the slightest that he was shady.

"I'm really tired, and Kenma is too. Could you help me out and carry Kenma to the bus? I know you've got a bunch of energy left, and it'd really help both of us out a lot," Kuroo coos kindly, in the exact tone that'd gain sympathy from anyone. How he could always do it, Kenma could never figure out.

"Kuroo, no!" Kenma quietly protested, but isn't paid any attention to by the excited first-year.

"Sure!" Hinata accepted the offer, quickly holding out a hand to Kenma. As the videogame addict took his hand, he nodded with a grateful smile. Unfortunately for him, he didn't even realize how tired he was as the fatigue in his legs had set in. Within a few seconds, his legs started to shake and feel like jelly.

"Oop!" Hinata noticed, pulling Kenma a bit closer to him. "Sorry 'bout that!"

"I-It's fine," Kenma quietly assured. "R-Really, Shouyou, this isn't necess--"

"Kenma, are you sure you're okay? You look a bit red," Hinata tilted his head as he spoke with a newfound concern. "I'll carry you."

"W-Wait," Kenma tried to get his way out of this. "You don't have to." It was a weak argument, especially against someone as determined as Hinata.

"I gotcha!" He pridefully claimed, holding Kenma in his arms. "You okay with this, Kenma?" His tone was nurturing and confident, still retaining all of that 'Hinata' confidence and soul.

"Y-Yeah..." his voice wandered off. "But did you really have to hold me like this?"

Of course, Kenma was being held as if he was a bride. The entire Nekoma team couldn't help but snicker at their teammate in need, who seemed to be in blissful suffering. He was simply blessed with the privilege of not having to walk to the bus, but also cursed with being held like a bride.

And of course for Kenma, he felt equally embarrassed, flustered, and confused.

Kuroo could only stare in how much better his plan worked than he initially planned for it to be, but shrugged it off and accepted it.

"Hm? Oh, Kenma! Your phone just got a notification!" Hinata noticed, pulling the phone out of the older teen's pocket while still holding him. It was pretty convenient that Kenma was also pretty small, despite the fact that Hinata possessed even less of something to show in terms of height.

"What's it say?" Kenma asked, tilting his head.

"It's from Kuroo," Hinata tilted his head in confusion, reading the text. "Why didn't you just tell him this in person, Rooster Head?"

"Oh, that was just for Kenma!" The captain smirked, glancing at the embarrassed teen.

"What does it say?" Kenma questioned, a slight fear falling upon his voice.

"To thank him for this later. I dunno what he's talking about, though. Did you do something for him earlier?" Hinata wondered out loud, not realizing the implications of the text. "Well, whatever. Make sure you rest well when you get home, mmkay?"

"F-Fine," Kenma gave in. However, he did end up giving Kuroo a glare for his scheme, to which he only got a simple shrug in response.

~~~

Man, I didn't know Kenma was this light! His voice is really nice, too! I wonder why Kuroo asked me to do this, though.

This is fun, actually!

"Dumbass, what are you doing?!" Kageyama lectures me from across the gym. "We're going soon!"

"Hinata, what he means to say is that we'll be leaving soon, so please hurry up," Sugawara tries to defuse, even though I know Kageyama's just a bit worried. I wonder why he never really shows his actual emotion. Isn't it tough to keep that all in?

"I gotcha! Gimme a few minutes!" I call back, causing Kenma to wince a bit. "Oh, sorry, Kenma. Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." he admits. "Why are you being so...caring and motherly to me?" Was I being caring? Am I not normally caring? Or am I just being more careful now that Kenma's in my arms?

"Uh...honestly, I don't know," I laugh awkwardly. "It just sort of...feels right to take care of you like this." Oh god, that wasn't a good way to phrase that in the slightest. It makes me sound like I'm interested in him.

I know that I messed up that phrasing even more when I see Kenma blush bright red, probably embarrassed. God, why did I say that? I didn't even mean it like that!

"S-Sorry!" I apologize instantly, sputtering and stuttering all over the place. "I don't, uh-- I mean, wait, uhh--"

"I-I get it, Shouyou," he quietly whispers, quickly silencing me. My heart beats fast, and I don't really know how to make it up to him. I stutter out a bit more before speeding up.

The rest of the walk to the Nekoma bus is silent between the two of us. I don't know what to say, and I walk with an embarrassed blush on my face. I can tell he's embarrassed too, because he's trying to seem casual on his phone but his gaze is way too intense, and he's leaning in even more than he usually does. It's like he's trying to avoid conversation with me.

As I quickly set him down once we get to the bus, I scratch the back of my head, "S-Sorry, Kenma. I didn't mean to make it so awkward and just-- you know what I mean-- GodhowdoIspeaktoyouwithoutmessinguplikeIjustdid--"

"Shouyou, it's fine," Kenma interrupts me quickly with a soft smile, one that seems a bit off considering how flustered he still looks. "T-Thanks for carrying me to the bus, by the way..." His tone's quiet like normal. It's calming. I like it.

"N-No problem," I smile a bit. "H-Hug?"

Normally, I'd just hug him without asking, but since that thing I said, I just feel a bit more awkward about it. It's weird, feeling awkward. Normally I'm just super happy to talk to someone or really afraid, like when I first met Aone.

He smiles a bit, makes sure that nobody's looking for some reason, and starts hugging me, "Sure. Thanks again, Shouyou." I hug back, a lot softer than before. I don't know why, but he seems a little more...fragile now.

"N-No problem," I laugh it off a bit. "I'm gonna go head back to my team, mmkay?"

"Yeah, of course," he softly smiles at me, and now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever noticed how he normally only smiles at me and Kuroo. That's cool, actually!

But also weird to think about. Am I thinking this too far? I'm thinking this too far. I don't like it when I think too much because it ends up confusing me.

Anyways, when Kenma gets on the bus, I wave to him before sprinting back into the gym to meet up with my team. My heart's beating fast, but I think everything's fine now. I just felt weird saying that, right? Besides, it's not like I can really think about all that. I've got volleyball with me!

"Hey, guys!" I greet, seeing them finally get up and ready and talking amongst themselves.

"Hinata, why are you blushing?" Kageyama asks me, and I reach my hand up to my cheek. "You won't be able to feel the blush with your hand, dumbass!"

"Did something happen?" Sawamura-Senpai builds off of it. "Are you feeling unwell?" Tanaka and Nishinoya approach me.

"I swear, if Nekoma did anything to you, we'll crush them!" The two of them say, almost together. I back up a bit, and try to calm myself.

"T-They didn't do anything to me," I admit. "I'm just...thinking."

Tsukishima, almost out of instinct, instantly remarks with a snide smirk on his face, "I'm surprised you have the brain capacity to think."

"H-Hey!" I protest. "I can think properly, you know!"

"Says the guy who got less than 15 points on our last math quiz," Kageyama teases.

"Shut up, Kageyama!" I retort. "You got 6 points!" I smirk in victory.

"Anyways," Asahi interrupts shyly, putting up a hand slowly. "Shouldn't we be getting on the bus yet?"

"Yeah, it'll leave without us," Ukai stretches. "C'mon, Hinata. Do your thinking at home or something."

Fine, fine. I guess...

~~~

"U-Um, Kiyoko-san?" Yachi asks timidly, her hands close to her chest as she struggles to make eye contact with the older manager. "Is something wrong with Hinata?" She points at the boy, who's seemed like his mind hasn't been functioning right, even in practice.

As she witnesses the scene in front of her, she can't help but take a step back and flinch a bit at Kageyama yelling at him. It's worse than usual, since this is yet another time Hinata's messed up a spike. He hadn't been jumping as high, he hadn't ran as fast as usual. It just seemed like his mind was somewhere else.

And that worried Yachi. For all the time she knew him, his mind was full of one thing and one thing only: volleyball. It'd be all he'd ever talk about. How he adored the Little Giant, how he wanted to get stronger and faster, how he always was practicing even after everyone was passed out from fatigue and potentially heat stroke from overexerting themselves.

She'd known Kageyama to be absent-minded at times, but most of the time those thoughts were indirectly related to volleyball. Hinata? She couldn't remember a single time when his mind wasn't filled with volleyball.

"I'm...not sure, honestly," Kiyoko admits quietly. "Ever since the practice game at Nekoma, he always seems caught off guard whenever someone talks to him, like he's deeply ingrained in thought. I just...don't know what he's thinking about."

"Maybe it's when Kageyama apologized to him for being so aggressive," Kiyoko hypothesizes, the idea popping up out of nowhere. "He did seem really regretful about it."

"Didn't Hinata just smile like always and brush it off?" The younger girl reminds. "I-I might be wrong, but I don't think it was too big a deal to him."

"Makes sense," Kiyoko nods, looking out at the court, which had the amusing scene of Nishinoya on Tanaka's shoulders just to jab at the other side who had just hit the ball into the net.

"M-Maybe we could talk to Coach about it?" Yachi suggests timidly, unsure of her own idea. "What if he knows something about it?"

"You know, that might work," Kiyoko agrees, and starts walking towards Coach Ukai who was refereeing the match. "Coach."

"Hol' up, Kiyoko, lemme finish this match," he interrupts. "It won't be long, by the looks of it." With how many times Hinata was messing up, his side was pretty cornered since it was practically a 5v6.

Despite this disadvantage, the score was still feasible considering that they were only 4 points behind.

"Hinata! What are you doing?!" Kageyama, with an incredulous expression on his face, yells with his hands up in the air to punctuate the remark. "That's like the fifteenth one you've messed up today!"

"I know!" Hinata shouts back, his hands on his knees before focusing on the net again. "One more!"

"How many times are you going to say that and do something?" Tsukishima whispers under his breath, though not noticed by many.

"Hinata, right now, you're--"

"Not essential to winning, I know!" The ginger interrupts. "Lemme get one more!"

"Okay, that's it for now. Time-out," Coach Ukai interrupts the entire conversation, essentially diffusing their conflict instantly.

As the team disperses into their respective sections that they've always gone to out of habit, there was a weird feeling around the team. They were used to Hinata always being focused and Kageyama being absent-minded, but not the inverse.

"Well, what did you two wanna talk about?" Ukai groans, scratching the back of his head, a bit irritated.

"I-Is something off with Hinata?" Yachi starts, still slightly intimidated by Ukai's rugged appearance. "It's l-like he's not focused..."

Ukai stretches a bit, his shoulders a bit sore, before responding, "Yep, something's off, alright. I just can't figure out what. Kageyama's always hounding him but that's always the case. I don't think it's gotta do with our team."

"What about his family?" Kiyoko suggests. "I don't think we know about that, so that could be the case."

"Yeah, maybe. I don't think we can do anything about it," Ukai dismisses. "If it is, then we'll just have to wait for him to chill out himself."

Yachi interrupts, even though she doesn't want to come off as rude, "U-Um, maybe I could talk to him after practice. W-We were supposed to study together with Kageyama after school anyways so they wouldn't fail their next math text."

"Well, if that's what you want," Ukai agrees, and Kiyoko nods along.

"What time is it?" Kiyoko wonders out loud, her head gearing towards the clock.

"Practically time to pack up. 6 p.m. We can probably practice some longer but not with how stuff's going down," He finishes talking to the two of them before turning to the rest of the gym. "Alright guys, time to head out! Make sure to be here tomorrow for morning practice and to get a good night's rest!

"Good luck," Kiyoko pats Yachi on the shoulder. "Especially dealing with the two of them."

Yachi chuckles lightheartedly with a thankful smile gracing her lips, "Thanks. I'll need it. Stay safe, okay?"

"You too."

As Kiyoko leaves, Yachi turns to Kageyama and Hinata, who are still at each other's throats. Clearing her throat to catch their attention, it works right before Kageyama uses what the team called 'The claw,' where he'd simply try to crush Hinata's head in his hand.

"Are we going to study or something?" She asks, trying to sound casual. She felt as if she failed horribly, but it does work as they nod and follow her.

How she was going to confront Hinata about this, she had no idea.

~~~

"Oh my god, how are you so good at this, Yachi?!" Kageyama asks me, incredulous. "This looks impossible!" I feel really flattered, but coming from him, I don't know how to take the compliment. The math they're working on in their class really isn't that tough. It's just geometry.

"I-I just like to practice," I admit. "Whenever my mind's on something worrying me, studying can help me calm down."

"How do you do that, though?" Kageyama presses, and I back up a bit. "When work is just so...ew."

"Kageyama," Hinata interrupts with a cheerful tone. "It's not her fault you can't understand what 3+8 is."

"Hey! I got that wrong one time!"

"One time too many."

"Can the two of you stop, please?" I timidly ask. The two of them were bickering the entire time on the way here, and I was slightly getting fed up. However, I really don't like getting angry or annoyed.

"Fine," the two of them mutter.

I'm not getting anywhere with this, am I?

I suggest, "You know what? Maybe we should take a study break. Drink some water, maybe?"

"I don't see why not," Kageyama nods. I glance at Hinata and he nods in agreement.

I don't know why, but it seems like he's calmed down a bit. He's still apparently thinking about whatever happened, because even while we were studying, he'd space out every now and then. But how do I bring it up?

"Oy, dumbass," Kageyama calls out as he takes a sip of water. "Why were you so off today?"

"Whatcha mean, Kageyama?" I hear Hinata call out from the bathroom, as I get up. Well, I guess this was easier than I thought it was going to be. Hopefully.

"You know. You've been off ever since you hung out with Kenma and when I got angry at you for not coming to school," He explains calmly. "Though I did mainly get mad at Kenma."

"Don't talk about that, please," Hinata requests, getting out of the bathroom. "Can we just get back to studying now?" Cutting the conversation off? That's not something the Hinata I know would do.

"No, no, you aren't out of this yet," Kageyama smirks, sitting down right next to him. "Something happened to you. Someone told you something. You did something wrong, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't!" Hinata denies, and he looks a bit pressured. "Nothing happened, okay?! I'm just fine, Kageyama." He smiles softly to prove his point, but there isn't that normal gleam in his eye.

"Kageyama, don't pressure him. If he doesn't want to answer, I don't think you should force him," I ask quietly, but my words fall on deaf ears.

"What, did Kuroo tell you something? Did someone flirt with you?" He starts teasing, and Hinata's shoulders get tense. He blushes brightly.

"So what if they did?!" He retorts with a higher-pitched voice, before his eyes widen and he covers his mouth.

"Hinata..." I whisper quietly, as I take the opportunity while Kageyama and Hinata are both stunned by what he said. "Is this what you've been thinking about all day?"

"Y-Yeah," he hesitantly admits. "Something happened to me, and I don't know what, and I've been trying to get it out of my mind so I can focus on volleyball, but I just can't."

"What happened?" Kageyama inquires, a hand on his chin. "If this thing is stopping you from playing volleyball right, I gotta help you through it so that the entire team is fine."

"I'm trying myself, Bakageyama!" He rolls his eyes with a teasing grin on his face. "But I don't know if you'd understand it."

"Well, we can try," I suggest, and he nods.

He puts a hand on his chin and hums before speaking, "How do I put it? I should probably start at the beginning, shouldn't I..."

"Anyways, I should start off by saying they didn't really flirt with me...I sort of...accidentally flirted with them," I see him scratch the back of his neck. "Well, not really flirting. I don't know what it is."

"Is there a specific person?" I ask, and he blushes a bit. "I-If you don't wanna tell us, I'm fine with it!" I look at him, and he's silent for a moment. I feel a bit embarrassed and guilty for asking him so suddenly, but Kageyama seems pretty curious as well.

He stays silent, and I can tell he's thinking before he whispers something, too quiet for me to discern.

"What'd you say, dumbass?" Kageyama insults while asking instinctively, but somehow Hinata brushes it off as normal.

"Kenma," I hear him whisper. "I don't know how it started, but ever since I hung out with him, I've been thinking him about him weird, and I hate how it feels."

I blink. He flirted with Kenma? He hates how it felt? But he can't stop thinking about him? What?

"Um...what do you mean that you hate how it feels?" I ask shyly.

"Well," he stretches out, trying to fill up the silence. "I don't exactly know."

How does it feel?

"I can't really describe how it feels either."

Oops...I guess I said that out loud. Whoops.

"At least try, Hinata," Kageyama urges. I think that's the first time I've heard Kageyama address Hinata as something other than 'Dumbass.' Weird to know that's how I measure whether or not he's being serious.

"Um..." he wracks his head, scratching the back of it. "I guess...whenever I'm around him, my heart goes...Gwah. My mind goes fwoosh and I feel like really smiley and bubbly and embarrassed. I don't know why I feel like this, though. All I've ever liked is volleyball and that's the stuff I feel towards it. I feel the same way in general towards volleyball...but this is different."

"What sort of different?" Kageyama asks, while I'm still trying to process what all those sound effects mean. I'm trying to connect the dots, but I feel like the conclusion that the connections lead to...are practically impossible.

"I don't know why...but the feeling makes me super happy. And that's why I don't like it. I don't want to like Kenma more than volleyball. What if I don't like volleyball anymore? But at the same time, I don't want to ditch Kenma." He laments, and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hinata...can't you like both? Just cause you like one doesn't mean you have to ditch the other..." I suggest. "But can I ask something?"

"I-I guess..." he answers, gears certainly grinding in his head.

"Hold up," Kageyama interrupts.. "Are you seriously so braindead that you don't know what you feel towards Kenma?"

That's...sort of what I wanted to ask. But not as...aggressively.

"What do you mean?" He asks, sincerely.

"Hinata...do you have a crush on Kenma?" I ask quietly, suggesting what Kageyama and I have certainly been thinking.

He blushes brightly. I've never seen his face as red as it is now, and I have no idea what he starts sputtering and blasting and I can't understand a single word. He's stuttering, chuckling awkwardly, and doing a lot of weird movements with his hands all while blushing heavily.

"Dumbass." Whatever saying that was supposed to imply, I guess Kageyama knocks him back into reality with a single word.

"I-I c-can't have a crush on Kenma! What if he hates me?! What if the team doesn't think good of me because I-I'm gay! I'm not gay, am I?! I-I haven't even had a crush on anyone before!" He rants, his emotions taking full control of him.

So, from what I hear? He has a crush on Kenma.

Actually, now that I think about it, it sort of makes sense. The way that Hinata always seemed even more lively when he was around, the way he offered to carry the little setter, and especially the way he was blushing when he came back from carrying him.

Kageyama, taking a sip of the milk that he took out of my fridge a while back (why was he so obsessed with milk, anyways?), quickly shoots him down, "Who cares if you're gay? You can be whoever you want."

"B-But what about the rest of the team?! What if Tsukishima doesn't accept me?!"

"Hinata..." I whisper, before speaking up a bit louder. "I think everyone'll accept you. Tsukishima, Tanaka, Sawamura, Coach Ukai, Kiyoko...everybody, even outside of our team."

He tries to come up with another reason, "B-But what if Kenma doesn't like me back?! What if he hates me?!"

"Hinata, I'm certain Kenma won't hate you. You're physically impossible to hate," Kageyama admits. "Even Tsukishima doesn't dislike you as much as he lets on, if at all."

I did not think he could use vocabulary like that. I'm surprised his vocabulary isn't limited to 'Get the ball,' 'Jump higher,' or 'Dumbass.' All three of those were all what I heard from him, so this is a welcome change. At least to me.

"And if he doesn't like me back?!" He continues.

"Then, why don't you ask the rest of the team? I'm certain they'll give you better advice than either me or Kageyama. Especially Kiyoko or Sugawara," I suggest again. He considers the notion, then nods.

"T-Then could you two help me out with something?" He asks. The two of us nod.

"What is it?"

He twiddles with his fingers before awkwardly smiling, "C-Could you two help me ask them for advice? I...don't really feel safe asking them alone."

"Sure, dumbass."

"Hey! I thought you were taking this seriously!"


	3. Approved Advice

"So, how exactly do I do this?" Hinata asked the two other first-years who were standing next to him. The three of them had met up to walk together to morning practice, and had arrived a bit late. They heard the familiar sound of volleyballs colliding with palms, grunts of effort, and the sound of shoes squeaking on the court.

"I...have no idea," Yachi admits. "Got any ideas, Kageyama?"

The said setter shrugs before following with: "Nah. I'm still gonna do something."

"W-Wait, Kageyama! Don't do something stupid!" Hinata stopped him before he barged in there. "Please? I...I don't know how I'm going to tell them."

"Sure. I won't tell them directly," Kageyama shrugged before bordering on violating that simple request. "Hey guys! We need some advice!"

"Oh my god..." Yachi whispered, embarrassed and experiencing secondhand shame for Kageyama. Instantly, she felt the instinct and desire to hide behind something and not be seen for the next five minutes. Unfortunately, by the time her legs had regained consciousness from being frozen in fear like a deer in highlights, the door had already busted wide open to the sight of Nishinoya and Tanaka.

"Whatcha guys need?!" Tanaka held a fist up enthusiastically. "If it's gotta do with punching, I got you!"

"And if it's gotta do with charming, I got you!" Nishinoya joined in, taking a flamboyant pose with his chin in his hand. "Of course, the two of us will always be ready to help our Kouhais with anything!"

"Except with academics," Tsukishima quipped from inside the gym, causing a temporary sour expression on the four present boys in the doorframe. Yachi, upon hearing that, couldn't help but crack a smile at the accuracy; even before the entire reveal yesterday, their studying was going abhorrently due to their sheer incompetence.

"What advice do you need, Kageyama?" Sawamura's voice came from the gym, before he walked up to the doorframe to join them. While the five of them are still in the doorway, everyone else had been listening in while still practicing.

"W-Well, it's not him who needs advice," Yachi hesitantly interrupted. "It's Hinata."

"Something on your mind, Number One Shortie?" Tanaka inquired, leaning on the frame itself. "Y'know what, it's getting a bit crowded here. Let's head in."

As the five of them walked into the gym, they were glad to see Hinata seem a bit more focused this time around. Considering his abysmal performance yesterday, seeing the familiar glint of glee in his eye was relieving. However, the fact that he wasn't as loud and bouncy as normal was slightly disconcerting.

"So, whatcha wanna talk about?" Nishinoya continued the conversation. "Gotta be something big if you aren't already holding a volleyball in your hands without us noticing."

"U-Uh...how do I ask you about this..." Hinata wondered out loud. "H-How do you ask someone out?"

Silence, in an instant, flooded the entire gym. It was as if the entire room had heard it and time froze around them. At the words of Hinata's plight, surprise, confusion, and a thick silence encapsulated the entire gym.

Hinata not being loud was odd, but they could handle. Hinata not being focused yesterday was unusual, but they found a way to cope with the unexpected occurrence.

But never in a million years, or even longer, did any single member of the Karasuno volleyball team think for a single moment that the reason behind Hinata's unusual behavior stemmed from this single question, this single conflict within him.

"Hinata. What?!" Sugawara broke the silence, his world breaking down around him from his perception of Hinata's naivety and only passion and attention towards volleyball. He had never believed Hinata had something on his mind other than volleyball, and this was perhaps one of the greatest shocks he had ever experienced since joining the volleyball team.

"You...are trying to ask someone out?" Asahi had finally registered what the younger boy had said, and frankly? He could barely believe he had heard him right. He had almost asked Hinata to repeat himself because he felt that he had misheard somehow.

"You have emotions other than, as you put, 'Gwah?'" Tsukishima asked, seemingly genuinely curious and bamboozled. Other than volleyball, Tsukishima had only pegged Hinata as a naïve young little boy who had no other interest than what made him happiest. Unfortunately, Yamaguchi had heard it and tried to quiet down the taller boy before conflict broke out.

"Hinata," Tanaka and Nishinoya both put a hand on the younger boy's shoulders, and had on their face their signature Buddha facial expression; it was rare to see, yet signified a rare moment of being solemn for the both of them. "Did we hear you correctly?"

With a nod, the two of them were broken apart and away from Hinata as the sight of Sugawara barreling through the team to ruffle Hinata's hair amused Kiyoko and Coach Ukai, who had yet to join in on the conversation.

As Coach Ukai whistled, "So that's what was on the Shrimp's mind yesterday. Guess you and Yachi were right, huh, Kiyoko?"

When the third-year manager nodded and looked out at the team, a small smile graced her lips, "Yeah. I didn't think it was this, though." She laughed a bit to herself, then walked over to the rest of the team.

"So, you need help getting yourself a date, huh, champ?" Nishinoya rhetorically asked, slinging an arm around Hinata's shoulder. "Well, I told ya already. I'm right here for any questions you got."

"Hold on, first off, we gotta establish," Sawamura interrupted. "Do you know if you really like them or is it just a crush?" It was quite surprising to see Daichi engage in this sort of behavior despite it getting in the way of practice time. However, considering how he too was shaken by this newfound information, he had no choice but to go with his instinct. He'd never had anyone interrupt practice for this sort of reason, anyways.

"I mean...I talked about it to Kageyama and Yachi yesterday, and after talking out how I felt...yeah, I do. I like them," Hinata admitted with a light blush on his face. "I think I...really do have feelings for this person." He had a light smile on his face, one different than his normal gleeful, child-like wonder grin. It was simple, pure, and genuinely content. Not to discredit his other smiles, but this contentment expressed was more of a satisfied one rather than gleeful.

"Wow, our little underclassman's maturing!" Tanaka observed with a proud smirk on his face. "So, who's the lucky lady? Someone from Karasuno? I wouldn't blame you with these sorts of outfits that girls wear to school!"

"N-No," Hinata stuttered. He genuinely had no idea how to really express who he had a crush on. He wasn't even sure if he could say it without being made fun of. Sure, Kageyama said that they'd accept him, but that didn't exactly help when his crush wasn't only a guy, but a member of Karasuno's rival's team.

However, with that one single word, most of the Karasuno members were confused. Who else could he really have a crush on that they could expect? There were barely any people outside of volleyball that Hinata really talked to that weren't in other sports, let alone people who he would probably fall for.

"Someone outside of school?" Nishinoya continued, pressing Hinata a bit. "It kinda helps to know who it is so you can get them good!"

"U-Um," Hinata's shoulders tensed. "I-If I tell you guys who it is, y-you guys won't hate me, right?"

"Of course we wouldn't," Asahi assured. "No matter who it is."

"E-Even if it's a guy?" Hinata gulped, closing his eyes tightly out of both fear and embarrassment, not wanting to feel the shame that he felt would inevitably come from the rest of his team. A gentler hand ruffled his hair, and he hesitantly opened his eyes to be met with the warming acceptance that came along with Sugawara.

"As long as you're happy and safe, you can like whoever you like," He reassured again. With a soft nod, the rest of the Karasuno team nodded in unison, with Nishinoya and Tanaka putting a thumb up of approval.

"As long as it isn't Kageyama. Then we need to question your judgement and taste in people," Nishinoya added. "What? If Hinata liked Kageyama, then I think he'd be flying too close to the sun."

"Oh, so you can remember those sorts of proverbs?"

"Hey!"

Daichi glared at the interruption before turning back to Hinata, "We'll support you, no matter what."

"T-Thank you, really!" Hinata smiled again, his eyes somewhat becoming glassy. "I-I know you guys wouldn't hate me, b-but I was just sort of worried about this."

"I somewhat hate you for other reasons," Tsukishima joked a bit, though no harshness was in his voice. "That being said, your sexuality does not matter."

"Anyways, who is it?" Ennoshita asked.

Yachi nodded at Hinata, which gave him a boost of confidence as he looked his team in the eye and said, "Kenma."

~~~

Why do I feel like something's about to go wrong? 

As I sneeze into my elbow, I stand outside my home and start walking towards school.

That's weird. Normally, Kuroo would already be hounding me with texts. As I open my phone, I realize that it wasn't the games who were giving me an endless amount of notifications, but a random amount of texts from an assortment of numbers who I had never heard from before.

I open up the texts only to realize something.

No. No, no, no! Kuroo, you didn't do this, did you?

I read the texts in a panic, my heart dropping with every single word I read. I get a text from Kuroo himself.

_Hey, Kenma! I told the rest of the team because I wanted some advice on how you could ask Hinata out!_

God damn it, Kuroo.

As I speed up a bit to a light jog to the Nekoma gym, I try to think of all the ways I could get back at Kuroo for this. I'd need some sort of opportunity, maybe someone he would like. No, he'd just tell them flat-out the moment he had an inkling of romantic feelings for them.

Mario Kart? No, that'd be too normal. I wouldn't gain much from it anyways, since I already beat him and Shouyou all the time. It couldn't be in volleyball either, since I frankly suck at it.

How could I get back at him?

Another notification. This time, it's from Lev.

_Wow, Kenma! I didn't know you were in love with Hinata!_

I blush a bit. I mean, I know I like him. A lot. But do I love him? I mean...I have feelings for him. That much I decided when I decided to stay up till 2 a.m thinking about it. But love? That's a lot. I don't think it's completely true...but I don't think it's entirely false, either.

As I scroll some more on my phone, I keep going until I hear a voice call out to me, and my head snaps up as the familiar voice goes, "Oh, Kenma! Coach wants to talk to you!" Lev waves to me with a smile on his face.

My eyes widen a bit. The coach wants to talk to me? They told him too? Kuroo, why did you do this?

As I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to calm myself down, I take a slightly deep breath and walk into the gym. I'm met with the observant eyes of all my teammates, all cornering me and making me feel like I'm on stage for a performance. It's even worse than when Kageyama was yelling at me, because there's nothing to hide behind right now.

"Kenma." Coach Nekomata's voice cuts through the silence, and cuts through the team. They split apart, revealing the coach sitting on the bench with a smirk on his face. I gulp. Is he going to kick me off the team or suspend me or something?

"So, I'm hearing you've fallen for Hinata," He instantly questions, cutting straight to the point. "Is this true?" Hesitantly, I nod. At the nod, he chuckles heartily.

"It is..." His chuckling becomes quieter. "I guess the cycle continues."

"Cycle?" I ask, curious. I'm a bit confused, honestly. Really, I thought he was just gonna kick me off the team.

"You remember the Little Giant, of course." I nod; after learning that the Little Giant was Hinata's inspiration to play volleyball, he'd constantly tell me things about him. "You and Hinata. From different schools. Rival schools, none the less. And the Little Giant? Well, he fell for a girl from Nekoma. The manager, actually."

My eyebrow raises a bit at that, "I thought Karasuno's coach at the time was really strict. He couldn't have tolerated that, right?"

"He almost didn't. He threatened to kick the Little Giant off the team not because it was a girl from our school, but rather than it would distract him. In the end, I had to convince Ukai to let it happen." My eyes widen.

I gulp, and my heartbeat goes a bit faster. I mean...I met the current Karasuno coach. He seems pretty chill. But I can't help but entertain the thought...what if Hinata had to choose between me or volleyball? Even if he does like me back, would he choose me over volleyball?

I...don't want the answer to that question.

"S-So why are you bringing this up?" I ask, trying to seem somewhat calm. I rub my arm, trying to make myself more compact. As I hear footsteps behind me, I can tell that the rest of my team is coming up from behind me, and I can practically predict when Kuroo's going to sling his arm around me.

"Well, we're gonna help our setter get himself a date!" Yamamoto cheers, and as I look around at the rest of the team, I can only see nods of agreement.

"Wait. What do you mean? Kuroo, what did you do this time?" I ask accusingly, my eyes narrowing a bit. "I thought I asked you not to tell them!"

"Well, my Dear Kenma," he coos like he always does when he's trying to get out of a shady situation; he's always been...crafty like this. "Why, you're my best friend, and my underclassman! How else could I react? Of course, I had to enlist the help of these guys so that you can be happy!"

"Okay, but you guys are clearly hiding something," I observe.

"How do you know?" Inuoka asks, somewhat confused. His acting's good, but Lev already confirmed it.

"Lev isn't that excitable."

"Whoops."

"Anyways," I shrug, taking out my second earphone and stuffing my phone into my pocket. "What are you guys trying to do, anyways?"

"Well, we're trying to get you a date!"

"And how exactly do you propose I do that?" I counter. "I can barely ask him to hang out with me, let alone ask him to be my boyfriend."

"My dear, dear Kenma," I hear Kuroo speak up again. "We've been planning this ever since I told them about your feelings for Hinata."

Coach Nekomata takes the wheel, "Now, of course, this plan's still in the works. It's rudimentary at best as we haven't really applied our knowledge of how you like to do things, Hinata's comfort, and whatnot. So, instead of practice now as we have practice later, Lev convinced me to let this time be dedicated to having our setter get himself a date!"

I don't really like this idea, though. It seems like I'm luring Shouyou in. Despite this, I can't help but be curious. Whatever ideas they've come up with are probably better than mine. Of course, my idea was literally to just never tell him and let my social anxiety take hold of me until I do something out of bottling my emotions. Not a high bar to pass.

"I came up with the idea where you ask him to come to the Tokyo Tower!" Inuoka proudly proclaims, and I cringe a bit at that.

"I...don't think that'll be the best place," I admit, shrugging a bit. It's not a bad idea, but...I like simpler more. I think Shouyou does, too. He's always happy and giddy about everything, and I think Tokyo Tower would be best saved for something else. I don't know, honestly.

"Why not?"

"Um..." I try to verbalize my thoughts. "I'm not really sure. It's kind of just instinct. But if I had to word it...I think simple is better. Easier for me to manage and not panic about. How about the park?"

"Okay...the park, then!" Yamamoto blasts. "Our plan's still perfect no matter the location! Just a little tweaking, and...boom! You'll be smooching that kid in no time!"

I blush a lot, my face probably going red. I try to hide it in my hoodie, but the damage's already been done as Kuroo snickers at me. I send a light glare at him and he straightens up. I smile under my hoodie, but I'm not letting him know that.

Luckily, Inuoka smacks Yamamoto on the back of the head for the remark so I don't have to.

As they go through the plan they've devised, I listen in. As I make a few suggestions here or there, I think I'm starting to like it. It's simple. Sweet. And something that I think I could pull off. Now, of course, there were some dumb suggestions. For example, while Yamamoto did bring up some good points...I think two of them could have been removed.

The first one was me kissing Shouyou's neck. I almost fainted then. I mean...Hinata's really cute and adorable. But kissing his neck is way too much for me to do...ever. Unless he was going to initiate it, nothing on Earth would give me the courage to do so. Unfortunately, I am still a teenage boy no matter how different I am from people. I may have had a lewd thought from that, and had to expel it instantly by slapping myself in the face. That was awkward.

The other one, I don't even think is worth saying, but I had to hear it.

Simply put, he suggested that I sext Shouyou.

No.

Either way, the rest of the suggestions were pretty good.

The plan that we decided on (let it be known that I'm still on the fence on this since it is like luring him in, but it sort of isn't) is that I'll be asking him if he wants to go to the park by his place in Miyaji over text. If he says yes, I'll be taking him there in the late afternoon to early evening. I'll make small talk, maybe scroll on my phone and act as natural as I can. Lastly, I'll lead him to either the hills or on a bench and lean my head on his shoulder. That's when I'll pop the question.

I'll admit, I sort of miss a few days ago when I didn't know how I felt towards Shouyou. It was pretty simple, pretty nice, and I still really do like staying alone more than anything else.

However, instead of spending that time alone, maybe the idea of spending that time with Shouyou...maybe it's nicer than just being alone.

I hope this goes well.

~~~

"Are you sure this'll work?" Hinata asks, skeptical. "I mean...I feel, it's too simple for Kenma."

"Promise."

The Karasuno volleyball team had been coming up with a plan on the fly as to how Hinata could end up asking Kenma out. In the end, they had decided on one main thing. And hoped that Hinata could pull it off.

"So, I'm supposed to ask him to meet me at the park?"

"No, dumbass. You're asking him if you can bring him to the park, since he's a while away," Kageyama reminds for what he feels was the fiftieth time. "Afterwards, you're just gonna hang out like normal."

"Okay, okay. And afterwards, I'm supposed to like tell him I'm tired and ask if we can sit down on a hill," Hinata recalls. It wasn't really a great plan; there was never a time in their life where they could recall Hinata ever being tired. "I'm supposed to lean my head on his shoulder, and ask him if he's comfortable with that."

"Yeah," Sugawara confirms. "You should be making sure he's comfortable, too."

"And lastly," Nishinoya proudly speaks the part that he came up with. "Prop yourself up, look him in the eye, and go on a whole romantic spiel."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Tanaka answers before Nishinoya can, "It's simple! Just spill out your emotions and tell him how you feel and especially tell him all those," he coughs for dramatic effect before assuming a character. "Amazing things about Kenma and how cute and adorable he is."

"S-Shush!" Hinata blushes, only causing most of the team to laugh at his misfortune.

Yachi speaks up, "But yeah, just tell him how you feel; it'll go great, Hinata. I think you'll be fine."

"You got this!" Tanaka hypes up. "Why not text him now so you guys can meet up later?"

"U-Uh...sure," Hinata nods, taking out his phone. His hands are shaking, and he doesn't fully know how to type right now. It's like his fingers had lost all sense of dexterity. "W-What should I say?"

Kiyoko advises, "Just ask him if he's fine with hanging out at the park later today. Maybe you should offer to pay for the ticket here also."

"O-Okay," Hinata answers, and frantic typing followed by extreme deleting only to be followed again by typing is heard until the familiar sending sound effect is triggered.

"You sent it?" Tanaka asks. As Hinata nods, another noise is heard. This time, Hinata's notification alert for texts. It hadn't even been ten seconds since he had sent the text, and reading the notification, a dumbfounded expression hit his face.

"What happened?!" Kageyama practically yells, seeing a blush make its way onto Hinata's face.

"U-Um..." He hums. "I asked Kenma out to the park...and he just...asked me out to the park." He shows his phone to reveal that Kenma's nickname in his phone was not only "Kitty" but also the contents of the texts.

Hinata's text read, _Hey Kenma! Do you wanna hang out at the park near my home later today? I'll pay for the ticket!_

Oddly enough, Kenma's text read, _Shou, I know you're probably practicing right now, but I wanted to ask if you'd be okay with me coming over later and the two of us could hang out at the park near your place._

~~~

In that moment in time, there were multiple reactions from both the Karasuno Volleyball team as well as the Nekoma Volleyball team.

Now, of course, the first reaction was instant confusion. Neither team really expected the two lovebirds to send a message to each other. Neither expected it to be about the same topic, at the same time, with the same request, and with all the details practically identical other than the subtle nuances of the people sending them.

Second? There was a realization within both Tanaka and Yamamoto: The realization that their respective underclassmen were head over heels for each other, and neither even knew. A smirk made its way onto both of their faces, and knew that they'd let their plan pan out, for they knew that their own plan was going to succeed without a doubt.

Third? Another realization, this time between Kuroo and Sawamura. It wasn't the same that the hair-challenged second-years had. Their realization was that the other teams had come up with a plan. Granted, the material and end goal of the plan were still unknown to them. However, the fact that there was definitely a plan amongst the other team was enough to boil their blood, and they began rooting that their lovesick teen would be the one to confess.

Fourth? There was a reaction that both Coach Ukai and Coach Nekomata shared. This, simply put, was confusion. That's all there was behind it. From the stories he had heard from his grandfather, the love story that the Little Giant went through was much more cliché. From Nekomata's experience, he was simply confused as to how this lined up so well, though did not connect the dots so obviously laid in front of him.

Lastly? The reaction between Kenma and Hinata. In an instant, their hearts pounded faster than ever before, and it was the most silent either team had ever seen them. Even when he wasn't talking, Kenma sometimes made some idle noise in tapping his foot. There was nothing here. And Hinata being silent? It was practically impossible.They had a furious blush on their face as, without even thinking, they typed an instant response of agreeing with the proposition that both had brought up, followed by an awkward conversation of apologizing for asking that and only led to both Kenma and Hinata continuing to text each other while the rest of the team looked on in solid amusement.

Neither team knew how this thing could ever go.


	4. Happy Heart

"You got this, Kenma! Just like we went over!" Kuroo encourages, as he tosses a shirt at Kenma. He had insisted he be the one to choose Kenma's outfit, despite the fact that the teen was more than capable of choosing his own outfit.

"Can I at least have a hoodie?" He asks, putting on the shirt. It was a basic black t-shirt, paired with a simple pair of shorts. "Why are you even choosing my clothes for me, anyways?"

"Do you really think you'd be able to choose a good outfit with Hinata on your mind? You were probably thinking about him the whole day," Kuroo teases, causing Kenma to flush and quickly deny it.

"C'mon, I'm joking! You don't have to throw stuff at me!"

"Yes, I do."

"Fine, I'll give you your hoodie. Which one?" Kuroo asks, opening the closet a bit more. Out of everything Kenma owned in terms of clothes, at least 80% of it would have to be hoodies, if he were to estimate.

"Just give me the black one. It's my favorite."

"Gotcha," Kuroo affirms as he tosses the hoodie to Kenma, who catches it with ease. "So, you're gonna ask him out today. How's it feel?"

"It's terrifying," Kenma admits, his tone way too calm to really match his words. "I...really like Shouyou, and I don't want to ruin what we already have between us."

"And you won't ruin it, because I am certain that Shouyou's fallen for you, too," Kuroo assures. "You're a pretty cool person yourself."

"Thanks, I guess...but I'm not," Kenma admits. "Well, I guess I should be on my way."

"Alright, see ya!" Kuroo smiles, waving him off as Kenma starts making his way to the subway station. Even though he had taken this route a bunch of times to hang out with Shouyou, or just to travel in general due to practice games, it felt different this time. It felt like he was taking a journey, a trek of sorts.

That being said, the emotions were bubbling inside of him and he was struggling to hide it. He was concerned, somewhat afraid, but at the same time extremely anxious. He was simply a nervous mess at the moment, even more than having to speak to people he's not familiar with.

He wasn't even sure if this plan that his team had come up with was going to work in the first place. After all, they had literally made it this morning and had only a few suggestions from Kenma to work off of. The fact that he couldn't even come up with a better plan wasn't going to help him, either.

Unbeknownst to him, Hinata was in a similar predicament.

In his own home, Hinata had been tossing around a bunch of clothes around the room as Kageyama sat on his bed. After the Karasuno team had done a rock-paper-scissors match to see who would be able to give Hinata that final push, it caused chaos between the team to see that Kageyama had won. While Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita hadn't a big investment in this situation, most others had. That being said, Asahi was interested, though nowhere near the degree of the rest of the team.

Hinata's mind wanders back temporarily to the anguish Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Sugawara had exhibited when they learned that Kageyama would be the one to see him off. Unfortunately, Hinata had personally requested they make it discreet and not so loud; his reason, though, was justified. It would probably make Kenma a bit suspicious and uncomfortable, after all.

"Dumbass, stop throwing stuff around! What you're wearing is fine!"

"But what if Kenma doesn't like my outfit?"

"Kenma has literally never cared what you've worn! Neither have you!"

"That's what you think about Kenma! I mean, you're right but I'm still panicking!"

"Then stop panicking!" Oddly enough, the order seems to work as Hinata took a deep breath, his shoulders untensing.

"You know what, Bakageyama? If Kenma really likes me, he'll like me for me!"

Kageyama blinks. He didn't know what caused that sudden switch from panic to calm and gentle. However, he accepts it. That doesn't mean his body, did, however. He barely registers the change in emotion physically and just blinks a bit more before Hinata jumps up.

"You know what?" Kageyama blinks again, getting up. "Have fun, got it?"

"Of course, Kageyama," Hinata smiles back, this time with a determined look on his face. Kageyama smirks back, knowing the confident, determined Hinata has returned to reality instead of that lovesick teen.

"And I'll come back with a boyfriend!" He blushes heavily and sits down instantly, thinking about what he just said. Maybe not. In fact, saying that made Hinata seem even more nervous as he paces around, before starting to search for some more clothes.

As he continued to plow through piles and piles of literally the same outfit, Hinata honestly had no idea what he was looking for. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but there was no needle in the haystack to begin with.

"Dumbass, just keep the shirt that you're wearing on. It's not like you've got any other ones," Kageyama lectures, literally picking Hinata up by the back of the shirt and dragging him out the door. "Now, come on. You've got a Kenma to ask out."

~~~

God, why did Kageyama have to force me out here? I don't even have a jacket or something to keep me warm or something! I mean, it's somewhat chilly but not something much!

As I bike down the mountain, I try to remember where the route to the subway station was. It wasn't too far from Karasuno, so I should be fine! Besides, the park isn't too far off from the subway station, either.

I smile, feeling my favorite part of the road come across. As I glide down the pavement, I feel the wind blasting through my hair and the thrill of the ride like a rollercoaster. I barely notice the stuff around me, but it doesn't really matter, does it? It's now or never.

I feel a buzz from my phone as I slow down, coming to a stoplight. It's from Kenma.

_Shouyou, I'm getting decently close to the subway stop. Where should I meet you?_

I wrack my mind for a moment, trying to think of the best place. Really, it doesn't matter where exactly we meet up, does it? I don't think so.

I reply, _I think anywhere's fine._ As I send the message, I skid to a stop as I come across an extremely familiar head of hair.

"Nishinoya-Senpai? What are you doing so close to the park?" I ask. I notice another head peeking out from a bush nearby. "Tanaka-Senpai?"

"We're rooting you on, of course!" He cheers. "There's no way I'd miss this sort of thing going on!"

"Uhh...could you two please leave?" I ask, trying not to be rude. "I-I think Kenma might notice. He's really good at noticing that kind of stuff."

Tanaka pouts from behind the bush. "We'll be discreet." Well, I guess that's the best I'm going to get.

As I continue riding down the mountain, I see the stoplights and directions that lead to the subway station. I speed up a bit, wondering if Kenma's already gotten to the stop. It's not too far from here, so I should get there soon.

Skidding to a stop once again, I notice that I've gotten to the station. Locking my bike on a nearby stand, I walk down the stairs into the subway and start looking for him.

"Shouyou." I hear the quiet, yet extremely calming and familiar voice call out to me. "I'm right here." I whip my head around and am met with the sight of Kenma's gentle eyes and a gentle smile with it. I almost melt right then and there. I don't, surprisingly.

"Hi, Kenma!" I bounce, smiling and my heart fluttering. "How're you?" He laughs a bit at my silliness, and I can't help but smile again.

"I'm doing well," he states, brushing a little bit of hair out of his face. "You?" 

"I'm doing fine," I shrug. "You ready to go to the park?"

As he nods, the two of us walk up the steps and while I get my bike, I can't help but notice that he looks like he has something on his mind. I shrug, hoping it's nothing bad.

While the two of us walk, I try to fill up the silence, "You know something, Kenma? I'm still going to make you say that volleyball is fun."

"Sure you will, Shouyou," his voice lightens up a bit. "Who knows? Maybe you already have and I'm just not letting you know." I pout a bit at that.

"Hey! You gotta let me know!" I plead dramatically. "What if I just keep chasing after you and you never tell me?!" My eyes widen and I blush a bit saying that. Why did I say that? Why, why, why? God, I'm stupid.

"Promise I'll tell you," he whispers with a light smile. "But then again, you haven't made me think volleyball's super fun...yet."

"And I'm telling you that you're going to enjoy volleyball!" I smirk, challenging him. Luckily, I'm able to drop that embarrassment as the two of us walk. It's not too far from the park, so we keep chatting about volleyball and stuff we might do after we graduate from high school. Apparently, Kenma's thinking of becoming a streamer! That'd be nice, knowing that I'm best friends with a streamer!

I haven't really given it much thought, but I'm certain that I wanna keep going towards volleyball. Hopefully I'll be able to call everyone while I'm playing on a super cool team or something!

Anyways, once we arrive at the park and after I lock my bike there real quick, I ask, "So...what do you wanna do first?"

He shrugs. "Swings?"

Okay, remember the plan, remember the plan. Go along with what he wants, make him feel comfortable. Let him know that he can be himself here, let him just relax. Don't be too loud or annoying.

Cool.

"Sure!" I smile brightly.

Great start to being quiet, I guess.

"So, Kenma," I say as we swing lightly on the set of swings. "Can I ask you something?"

He nods.

"Why'd you wanna hang out today anyways?"

He seems a bit pensive, reflective, even. He blushes a little bit, and I'm instantly curious. Or am I just imagining it? I'm probably just imagining it.

"I could ask you the same thing. We sent each other the texts at the same time, didn't we?" He smiles lightly, and I start blushing. What am I supposed to say to that?

"U-Uh..." I stutter, trying to come up with something; looking into his eyes, I don't know what to say. I can't really say much, that'd give it away. But not saying something'll give it away. Um. How. Do. I. Do. This.

"I-I guess I just wanted to talk to you," I scratch my head and awkwardly laugh. "Kageyama's busy today, and so is the rest of the team, so I didn't know what else to do."

When I mention Kageyama, I notice him cringe a bit. Jeez, I guess when he yelled at Kenma, it really did leave a mark. I don't really wanna think about what would have happened if I didn't defend him then.

"Well...I guess I sort of also wanted to talk to you," Kenma admits. "I don't really get out much, so I thought you'd be able to sort of help me with this thing that I've been thinking about."

I blink. Did he want my help for a project or something? Maybe advice to help him start streaming? I mean, I know he doesn't really like talking to people so maybe streaming'll be tough for him.

Uh. What did they say again? Hill, right!

"Sure," I try to sound casual. "You wanna talk about it on the hill or something?" He nods, seeming a bit suspicious but glad at the same time. God, I probably sounded super suspicious, didn't I?

As the sun starts to set, I notice it gets a bit chillier. I shiver a bit. In an instant, Kenma's behind me, holding his hoodie out. I shyly take it.

"You sure, Kenma?" I ask hesitantly. "What about you?"

He shrugs, "Could I just like lean my head on your shoulder? That'll keep me warm enough, right?"

~~~

As the two boys lay in the grass, Hinata wearing Kenma's hoodie, the sun starts to disappear, being replaced by the night sky. There isn't any talking between the two of them, just a sense of comfort and familiarity.

"Your jacket smells like you," Hinata observes out loud, not realizing how awkward that is. Neither of them know how to break the silence. It's not like either of them know exactly how to let out their feelings that isn't in 'Gwahs' and saying nothing, respectively. Their hearts pound.

"Shouyou."

"Kenma."

Both of their voices call each other's names simultaneously, causing both of them to sit up.

"Y-You can go first," Kenma signals, and Hinata gulps.

"T-There's a reason I asked you t-to come here, and n-not just cause nobody else was available. I-I kind of wanted to tell you something, personally," he admits, and the air becomes tenser.

Hinata takes Kenma's observant silence as a signal to continue, "L-Look. I know what I'm about to say isn't right. Y-You'll probably hate me for it, or something." Kenma's eyes widen a bit.

"S-Shouyou, I could never hate you..." Kenma coos, gently grabbing Hinata's arm.

"Y-You don't get it, though! I-I like you! L-Like romantically!" Hinata blurts, silencing Kenma. his eyes widen, and his jaw nearly drops. He doesn't know how to respond, and they can only stare at each other as Hinata bursts out his feelings.

"I-I don't know how I feel, but I can't help it! You're s-smart, kind, sweet, and just so super awesome! I-I like you as much as volleyball, or even more!" He admits, pouring out his emotion and hiding his face in his hoodie. "A-And I don't want to hurt you or you to hate me!"

Silence.

Sheer silence.

"O-Oh, my god!" Hinata whispers, thinking he messed up heavily. "I-I'm sorry, I'll fix it! I'll make it right, I'll stop with this!"

"Shouyou." He snaps his head up at the sound, the voice near broken. As he looks up at Kenma, he sees a sight he'd never thought he'd see. As the tears fall down Hinata's cheeks, they do the same for Kenma's. However, he wasn't shaking. It was as if he was at peace.

"Shouyou, look at me," Kenma requests, his voice shaky. "There's nothing to fix."

"W-What do you mean?" Hinata asks, suspicious, as if his hearing's malfunctioned. Before he knows it, Kenma pulls him into a hug. It's a shaky hug, and Kenma can barely hold his arms up to hug Hinata in the first place.

"I like you too. A lot. You're passionate, kind, sweet, and just...the best," Kenma admits, his tone weak and slightly vulnerable, yet filled with emotion. "I...I'm really, really glad I met you, Shou. I...I don't really like volleyball that much...but whenever you're on the court...you make it exciting."

Hinata's heart melts at that. He doesn't know what to do but cling on to Kenma, his emotions getting the best of him.

"And...I asked you here for the same reason...I wanted to tell you," Kenma pulls away hesitantly, though to look Hinata in the eye. As they lock eyes, there's a sense of fulfillment between the two of them. A connection of sorts.

"B-But what about me playing volleyball?! T-That'd collide with your streamin-- MMPH!" He's shut up. Before he knows it, warmth encapsulates his whole body, fireworks blasting in his mind. He can't even process it for a few moments, but his body reacts instinctively.

He's kissing Kenma.

He can't help but wrap his arms around Kenma's waist, but there's nothing else in the world that he can notice right now. It's warm and sweet, gentle and full of emotion, and nothing else. Just love.

As the two boys pull away, Kenma whispers, "S-Sorry, Shou." The two of them stare into each other's eyes.

"D-Don't apologize, Kenma," Hinata assures. "S-So...what are we?"

Kenma smiles lightly, his eyes glittering a bit in the dusk and a gentle blush dusting his cheeks. 

"I'd hope more than best friends," He laughs gently, and it sounds like music to Hinata's ears. "I...I like you, Shouyou." The two of them lie down, this time with Kenma leaning into Hinata's embrace.

"I like you too, Kenma," Hinata admits, blushing a lot as he plants a quick peck on Kenma's forehead. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mhm," Kenma hums.

"Can I have another?" He requests, a hint of playfullness in his voice.

"Sure, Shou." Another kiss, this time a gentle peck.

"Hey, that wasn't long enough!"

"Fine, you big baby."

Another one.

And another. They keep going until the wee hours of the night, until they're forced into Hinata's home to sleep.

Right now, neither of them are surrounded by their volleyball teams, looking for their future, looking and working towards their goals. There's simply nothing in this world right now that matters to them other than each other, and that's okay.

Tonight, they feel the happiest they've ever felt in their lives. More than the thrill of playing volleyball. More than the satisfaction of getting a new game. Even more than the time they've spent with their team.

Right now? Their hearts are full of two things. Joy, and more shared between the two of them, love.

"Love you, Shou. G'night."

"L-Love?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. G'night."

"G-Goodnight, Kenma. L-Love you too!"

"You're cute."

"Hey, you did that to get a reaction out of me!"

"But it's true!"

"Shush."


End file.
